In the world of “high-level” work, you’ll typically run into two types of people:
1. The Abstract Thinkers
Those who can abstract and generalize all the details into principles and systems. Their skills are best leveraged to create strategies or coach others, but they’ll also do a great job if you need them to be hands-on.
Sign: When discussing a high-level concept, they can zoom in to explain how a specific part works, offer concrete examples, and highlight attributes that are unique to a given context.
2. The Surface Skimmers
Those who avoid getting into details because they can’t. They hide behind phrases like “I focus on the big picture” or “I like to empower my team.”
Sign: When you ask for details, they’ll try to shut down the discussion by saying “Well, {known_brand} and {expert} do this” (argument from authority) or simply punt the questions to someone who’s on the ground level. And when such a person doesn’t exist, it becomes a justification to hire one.
Ironically, Group 2 can be very good at convincing others that they know their stuff — sometimes even better than Group 1, who refuse to over-promise or over-sell their skills.
In certain big companies, Group 2 makes the ideal middle manager. More heads, more layers, more summaries, and more people from big brands who “know the rules.” (See David Graeber’s Bullshit Jobs theory.)
But when these people try to do the same at series A or B startups, things will get ugly.
Oh no, I don’t mean for them.
They will do just fine by following the “Incompetent Leader’s Playbook“, but for startups that hired them? Not so much.
Unfortunately, even the smartest founders I know get swayed by the logos on Group 2’s resumes, their high-level talks that sound great in interviews, and pressure from investors to bring in experienced leaders.
If you’re a founder who is hiring functional leaders, here’s my advice:
- Get good enough at the function you’re hiring for to ask detailed questions.
- Have trusted experts to offer a second opinion.
This way, you’ll have a better chance of telling those who can do the work from those who are only good at talking about it.
